Happy 50th Dad!

Holy cow Dad's 50!

Kasey, Kennedy, Rylee and Ashton enjoying some caramel apples before lunch. I love them.

Me and my dad.

LOYAL Class IV Game Night

I love game night! Tonight some of my fellow classmates from Leadership Oklahoma City's Young Adult Leaders Class IV (LOYAL) met for game night and we had a blast. Ryan came along and we played Malarkey, Buzz Word and Catch Phrase with 20 or so of my fellow classmates.

The night started out rather calm with a few of us playing Malarkey.

We did have a good laugh at one point when we realized Leigh missed the "how to do tally marks" day of school.

And then the night got real crazy when we ventured into the other room to play Catch Phrase. Ryan and I were on opposite teams and I am very competitive when it comes to games. Here I am hoping the other team does not guess Ryan's answer.

Edwin was obviously comforting Emily over something very traumatic.

The Kuhlman's were also on opposite teams. They are so fun!

And here I am with the hostess with the mostess. Staci sure knows how to throw a wild LOYAL game night! Thanks, Staci!

Miss Millie Vanillie

I know what you're thinking... How could I possibly foster another dog after Tallulah. Well, the answer is simple. How could I not? Look at this cute baby! I love animals, especially dogs, so if I can help just one dog get out of the shelter and into a loving home than it's all worth it.

After Tallulah, Ryan and I had decided to take a few weeks off from fostering to spend some time with Dax and Darbi, shampoo the carpets and just "heal". We decided we would like to foster an adult dog next time so we wouldn't have to use our house as potty-training central.

So two weeks to the day that Tallulah was adopted, I received an e-mail from the Humane Society that they had an adult, female yellow lab in the shelter that needed a foster home. It was like God said, "Here, what more could you ask for?" Most of you know Ryan and I have two yellow female labs of our own that we absolutely adore! I immediately called and said, "I'll take her!"

I picked up this sweet baby from the Humane Society clinic Tuesday after she was vaccinated and all fixed up. When I first saw her, I immediately thought she resembled Dax. She jumped in the back of my Jeep and we were on our way home when the name "Millie" came to me.

When Millie first got home she was still very timid and obviously nervous. She growled at Dax and Darbi when we first tried to make the introductions so we gave her some more time to adjust. (It could have been b/c they looked so much alike.) After a little alone time and some belly rubs from me and Ryan, Millie was ready to meet her foster sisters.

I know this is not the best photo, but I couldn't get a good shot with all the girls. Here we have from right to left: Millie, Dax and Darbi. It's so fun having three little blondies running around the house.

Millie (left) and Dax are playing with a (non-pull) toy. Don't they look so much alike?

New Foster Dog!

It looks like we're getting a new foster dog today! Stay tuned for details. I'm so excited!

HeartLine 2-1-1 Day

I was fortunate enough to be accepted into Leadership Oklahoma City Young Adult Leader's (LOYAL) Class IV. As part of LOYAL, we are put into small groups of 10 and then given a non-profit in the Oklahoma City area that needs our help. This called our LOYAL Action Project or LAP. I guess this organization likes acronyms.

My LAP was HeartLine 2-1-1, which is a great organization that provides help, hope and information to Central Oklahomans 24 hours a day, 365 days a year through compassionate listening and an amazing referral program. HeartLine is the best first call to make if you are ever in need of help.

Our project was to help raise awareness for HeartLine 2-1-1. We began working immediately in November and haven't slowed down since. Today was the culmination of all our hard work. Governor Brad Henry issued a state proclamation naming February 11 as HeartLine 2-1-1 Day. As a result, we planned a press conference in the Capitol Blue Room with the First Lady and Mayor Cornett. In addition, Bob Spinks, president and CEO of United Way, Dr. Powitsky of HeartLine 2-1-1 as well as a caring call specialist with HeartLine 2-1-1 also participated in the press conference. The purpose of the press conference was to raise awareness and to encourage the public to donate $2.11.

The press conference was well-attended and the most exciting announcement came from Bob Spinks. He pledged, on behalf of United Way, to match any donations made to HeartLine 2-1-1 today up to $5,000! As soon as he made that announcement, the crowd broke out in cheers. It was amazing!

Here are some photos from the press conference.

Yeah, that's me and Mayor Cornett going through the run of show. He is probably one of the coolest, most media-savvy elected officials around. He is always so easy to work with and I love that he doesn't have to have an entire entourage everywhere he goes. Thanks, Mayor for being a part of HeartLine 2-1-1 Day. On a side note, I learned that Cherry Coke Zero is the official beverage of the Mayor's office.

Whereas, First Lady Kim Henry reading the State Proclamation
(you'll get it if you've read a state proclamation)
Talk about a sweet, caring and kind lady. This was the first time I have ever met the First Lady and I was so impressed. She was so gracious and so genuine, I actually wanted to know if she would be interested in grabing a drink afterward but I knew she was busy and I had to get back to the office. Maybe next time?

Here is a group shot of all of our presenters and VIPs. Left to right: Janet Riggan with HeartLine, Bob Spinks with United Way, Mayor Cornett, Amanda Wrede with HeartLine, Tom Taylor with HeartLine, the First Lady, Dr. Powitsky with HeartLine and Lori Linstead with 2-1-1.

And there is team awesome. That's my LAP team (minus Lacey) and I love these guys! They all worked so hard to make this day happen. We've all gotten really close over the past few months and I'm sure we've made friendships that will last a lifetime. Now, we all just want to celebrate.

Just needed to update

Hello! I just haven't updated in while and I'm tired of getting sad looking at Tallulah's final post so I'm just going to write about what I've been up to.

Well, I started half-marathon training. There, I said it. So that means now I have to follow through. I love accountability. I'm training with my good pal Sarah again which I'm totally stoked about. I ran 9 miles this week. Not a bad start.

I got a mountain bike! It's blue and I call her Betty. I also got a blue helmet to match Betty. I haven't had a chance to take her for a substantial ride just yet but I'm really looking forward to it.

I still miss Tallulah and tear up about it almost every day.

Ryan and I went to our first Thunder game last week! A nice lady at the gym gave them to Ryan. We weren't quite sure where they were but we were sure they weren't as good as the ones my boss gave us when the Hornets were here. Well, if you don't know where row "P" is, let me tell you. It's at the very top. As in, nothing behind you but a concrete wall. I was so excited to be there that I didn't care.

Yesterday my buddy Alisha and I volunteered at PetSmart for the Central Oklahoma Humane Society. This was our third outreach and we have been "officially trained" to co-captain the next outreach. All together 8 animals were adopted; 5 dogs and 3 cats!